The present invention relates to refrigeration equipment and especially to a housing for roof mounted refrigeration equipment for refrigerators in commercial buildings.
In the past, it has been common to mount the compressors, blowers, and the like for refrigeration equipment outdoors and typically on the roof of a building, such as a supermarket. The equipment produces a cooling in the refrigeration and freezer equipment within the building refrigeration units. Supermarkets, which require large amounts of refrigeration, typically have sizable equipment and use plural compressors which may be operated in parallel and mounted in a housing attached to the roof of a building. The equipment on the building roof is typically subjected to the elements since the top of the housings are typically open for upward facing blowers. In addition, oil and water entering the housing will accumulate on the floor which will accelerate the corrosion of components. Repair personnel attempting to repair the roof equipment work in the open sun or in the rain because of the openness of the roof top areas.
The present invention is directed towards an improved housing for refrigeration equipment which allows repair personnel to be shaded as well as protected from the weather upon opening the access panel to the equipment and the equipment has been laid out for ready access from the access panel. In addition, the housing is such that the build-up of liquids is prevented in the housing and rain and weather elements are blocked from readily entering the top of the housing.
Prior art U.S. patents relating to housings for refrigeration equipment may be seen in the Arnold et al. U.S. Pat. No., 3,205,674, for a unitized refrigeration station which has the equipment for a refrigeration station mounted within a small metal building having an entrance door and a blower at one end thereof. In the Vandervaart U.S. Pat. No., 4,415,023, a heat exchanger housing with an air deflecting baffle and hinged door is provided in which one hinged door is opened by the blower swinging the door open. The unit also has a top which is hinged and can be raised and which has serpentine air inlets around the top for the passage of air into the housing and through the heat exchanger coils. In the Bowman et al. U.S. Pat. No., 3,242,686, a unitary machine housing is provided in which the blowers are mounted on the side of the housing behind a series of hinged louvers. Entrance to the housing is from one end through a pair of panel doors.
The Ramsey U.S. Pat. No., 3,735,602, is an air conditioning condensor unit having a housing with an air blower mounted for horizontally blowing the air out one side. Similarly, the Manning U.S. Pat. No., 4,976,114, is an air conditioning unit having an internal combustion engine for mounting on the roof of a building and exhausts air through the side of the housing. The LaBrecque U.S. Pat. No., 4,803,848, shows a typical supermarket cooling system which is CPU controlled using parallel connected equipment.
In contrast, the present housing for refrigeration equipment is designed to improve the life of the equipment by the design of the housing and frame by making for easier access by repair personnel while providing them a protective covering while working on the equipment.